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Expedition to Oregon
Apr. 25th, 2011 09:25 amSo I drove to my brother's place in Corvallis on Saturday. Beautiful day for a drive. I arrived just after noon, and we sat out on the deck in the sun for a while, then we headed down to the brewpub, Block 15, with my eldest nephew as designated driver. I'd been reading about Block 15 on the beer blogs, and the beer was quite good. Perhaps my favorite was the Berliner Weisse, which was a sour wheat beer with only around 3% ABV. Would make a very nice summer drink. Back at the house we ate left-over Chinese takeout for dinner and my brother and I talked late into the night (for us) over a big bottle of red wine.
Sunday was Easter. My brother and I went for a hike in a nature reserve that had been an Army training camp back in WWII. It has reverted to swamp, but there are still old roads and concrete foundations covered in moss. Lots of chittering marsh wrens in the cattails. The weather had turned cloudy and damp. My sister came down from Salem for Easter dinner, and a friend of my nephew's came over as well. Much discussion of my sister's new grand daughter, who is almost a month old now. I'll meet her in a couple of weeks when we all gather again for Mother's Day weekend. Baby talk led to memories of when the nephews were babies, and my sister-in-law brought out her book of old photos. Lots of good family feeling.
The drive back in the rain wasn't as nice as the sunny drive down had been. In the Kalama/Kelso area I hit a downpour that was almost as bad as the downpour I hit in that same area many years ago that was so bad I actually pulled off the freeway. It wasn't quite that bad this time, but it was still nerve-wracking. Then traffic jams in Centralia and Tacoma. But everything looked so green and new, with trees putting out bright new foliage. I don't make that drive as often as I used to when my parents lived in Portland, and there are parts of it, especially along the Columbia river, that are really beautiful. You stop seeing it when you travel the same route too often, so it was good to see the Spring-fresh world with fresh eyes.
Sunday was Easter. My brother and I went for a hike in a nature reserve that had been an Army training camp back in WWII. It has reverted to swamp, but there are still old roads and concrete foundations covered in moss. Lots of chittering marsh wrens in the cattails. The weather had turned cloudy and damp. My sister came down from Salem for Easter dinner, and a friend of my nephew's came over as well. Much discussion of my sister's new grand daughter, who is almost a month old now. I'll meet her in a couple of weeks when we all gather again for Mother's Day weekend. Baby talk led to memories of when the nephews were babies, and my sister-in-law brought out her book of old photos. Lots of good family feeling.
The drive back in the rain wasn't as nice as the sunny drive down had been. In the Kalama/Kelso area I hit a downpour that was almost as bad as the downpour I hit in that same area many years ago that was so bad I actually pulled off the freeway. It wasn't quite that bad this time, but it was still nerve-wracking. Then traffic jams in Centralia and Tacoma. But everything looked so green and new, with trees putting out bright new foliage. I don't make that drive as often as I used to when my parents lived in Portland, and there are parts of it, especially along the Columbia river, that are really beautiful. You stop seeing it when you travel the same route too often, so it was good to see the Spring-fresh world with fresh eyes.
